


Help Me Break Your Heart

by SunsetNCamden



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Faux dating, Kissing, LadyNoir - Freeform, References to the other corners of the lovesquare, dinner date, faux relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 10:13:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14162577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunsetNCamden/pseuds/SunsetNCamden
Summary: Ladybug asks Chat Noir to help her to get Adrien to fall out of love with her. Yes, you read that right, to fall OUT of love.What? I know crazy, right? I've read a number of fanfics in which Marinette pretends to be Adrien's girlfriend/fiance to fool Chloe and/or Gabriel. I wanted to try reversing it and have Marinette ask Adrien to be her faux boyfriend, but could not think of a likely scenario. But, then it hit me that it would work for Ladybug and Chat to fool Adrien.





	1. The One I Love

**Author's Note:**

> Rules of the fanfic:  
> 1\. All scenes are only between Ladybug and Chat Noir. The other corners of the love square can be referred to, discussed, and thought about even in a flashback, but otherwise this is a LadyNoir fanfic.  
> 2\. No akuma battles. They can be referred to and discussed, but I'm not doing a blow by blow account.  
> 3\. No other characters or if they must appear, then they will have little to say/do and not influence the plot.  
> 4\. No accidentally seeing the other transform/de-transform. The reveal will be based on them figuring it out using what they know of each other.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug confesses to Chat Noir about the boy she loves.

After searching for over an hour she finally found him. A few buildings away Ladybug could see Chat Noir’s outline on the roofline. Approaching slowly and carefully, so as not to scare him away, she advanced toward him. The turn of his cat ears toward her signaled he knew she was there before she alighted on the rooftop. Gratefully, he did not flee. With a soft thud she landed.

“Not your normal night to patrol...” Ladybug said quietly testing the waters.

“Does this look like patrolling to you?” he asked scornfully as he continued to look out at the city. He had been sitting on that rooftop for God knows how long. With this particular problem he had no one he could talk to about it, no one who could provide him comfort or advice, and so he sat, unable to move, not going forward or backward, just stuck...in a dilemma of his own making. His legs swung back and forth like a bored child’s over the eaves of the building. His tail whipped back and forth indicating his unease.

“Chat...” she began.

“Don’t bother,” he cut her off not wishing to hear anymore. He had gotten a thorough enough tongue lashing from her already. Then, his father had to add his two cents, including grounding him for good measure. Nino also chastised him, calling him foolish. Even Marinette disapproved of his actions! Shy Marinette, who could barely say hello to him without stuttering, had no problem calling him reckless. None of them understood. He had done what he had to do, what he was supposed to do. He had done the right thing of that he was positive otherwise his partner wouldn’t be there now to stare disapprovingly at him.

Sighing, Ladybug sat down next to him with her legs crossed underneath her. She waited, waited for him to turn and meet her gaze. He stubbornly continued to look away. She had hurt him terribly with her words. They were said out of anger toward Adrien, but mostly toward herself, but she had lashed out at her partner, who did not deserve it. Chat’s only crime was being absent from the akuma battle. Nothing that happened was his fault.

“I’m sorry,” she admitted. “I didn’t mean what I said.”

“Yes, you did,” he finally met her gaze. His green eyes awash with hurt that she knew she had put there.

“No, Chaton. I was angry...at myself. I lashed out at you. I would never, ever want anything bad to happen to you. I shouldn’t of said that it should have been you. The thought of you...dying...” her voice broke.

At the sound Chat’s resolve to be mad at her, to hate her, caved. He loved her with every fiber of his being. Seeing her in pain made him react without thinking, almost like muscle memory, he wrapped his arms around her, burying his head into her neck. She held him tightly, grateful for the contact and his absolution of her sin against him. She continued to whisper her apologies into his ear. Over and over like a mantra, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

After a few moments he pulled away and placed a finger on her lips to still them. Their eyes met and he gave her a reassuring nod as he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. She leaned back into him, placing her head on his collar bone. They held each other, wrapped in one another’s arms.

“The boy...” she began quietly, “the one who saved me...the reason I got so upset...he’s the one.”

“The one what?” he whispered.

“The one I’m in love with.”

She said it so softly that Chat wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. It had to be a mistake. His heart tricking him to hear what he wants to believe, but could never be the truth.

“Wh-what?” he gasped.

She pulled back to face him. He deserved to know the truth. “I’ve been in love with him for almost a year now. That’s why I got so upset. I saw him die in front of me and I...I fell apart. Even after everything got restored and I knew he was okay, alive and well, I just...I don’t know...I lost it.”

“You...are in _love_ with.......Adrien Agreste?”

Ladybug nodded. She held her breath knowing that confessing this to him, naming the boy she loved, might hurt him, open up old wounds she wasn’t even sure were completely healed yet. Chat had professed his love for her about 6 months ago. She had rejected him telling him that there was someone else she already loved. It had badly affected their partnership. He had tried to be brave, but the rejection stung. He stopped flirting. The puns lessened. Ladybug pulled back even more so to a level of professionalism that made Chat feel as if his partner was a stranger. No small talk. Few smiles exchanged. It took several months for them to get to a place where they could be in the same space together without any tension.

The breakthrough in their partnership that finally returned them to their previous trusted, caring state happened about 2 months ago. Ladybug had found Chat on a similar rooftop in a similar state, but that time she was not the cause. Something in his personal life, although she did not know the details, had sent him spiraling into fits of anger, grief, and depression. She had stubbornly stood beside him through the ensuing weeks even when he didn’t want her, helping him, cheering him, loving him until he emerged on the other side of the crisis. It made them both realize that even though their relationship was not and would not be romantic in nature that there was a special type of love between them that only they understood. A bond, forged out of mutual respect, shared success, and apportioned responsibility to the world and to each other.

Ladybug hoped that their connection could withstand this first test to their recent reconciliation. She could not have possibly prepared for Chat’s reaction. Ladybug stared in confusion as Chat’s body shook in hysterics, not from panic or anger, but from...laughter.

Ladybug stood up suddenly, offended by her partner’s response.

“What’s so funny?” she asked crossing her arms in front of her.

“All this time...(heh-heh)...you’ve been in love with...(hee-hee)... _him_?” Chat continued to chortle as he talked. He held his hand against the muscles of his abdomen, which ached from overuse.

“Yes!” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, “so what?”

He tried to answer, but his giggles would not subside. He threw his head so far back with glee that he almost lost his balance, but caught himself with one clawed hand before spilling over the side.

“Serves you right,” Ladybug chided.

He righted himself so that he was no longer at risk of falling. The sudden threat of gravity sobered him up and he quieted. He used the back of his glove to wipe the tears of joy from his eyes. He took a couple of deep calming breaths, but a smirk still pulled at the corners of his mouth.

Ladybug glared down at her partner, “Now can you please tell me what is so funny about me being in love with Adrien Agreste?”

Chat toyed with the idea of telling her the truth:

_“Well, M’Lady this whole time I thought we were in the midst of a love triangle. I love you, but you love someone else. Turns out the someone else is me and our triangle is a straight line!”_

He wondered if he said that to her then would she run straight into his arms or run straight at him armed to the teeth?

But, no he could not say that to her. It would reveal his identity to her and they had promised each other that they must keep their identities a secret at all costs.

“Nothing, M’Lady. I just didn’t peg you for the fangirl type.”

“Fangirl! I’m not a fangirl!” Ladybug declared as she stomped her foot and clenched both fists at her sides.

“Really? You don’t see his ads and sigh, ‘Such a handsome boy!’?” He put one hand on his forehead and feigned fainting at the obscenely large billboard in the distance graced by the blonde’s unmasked visage.

“Of course not! That’s not why I love him.”

“Pffft,” Chat scoffed. “Why on earth would you care about his angelic good looks when his bank account is out of this world?”

“I don’t love him because he’s rich either.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t hurt though. Very well, why do you love him? What makes this rich pretty boy so special?” Chat prepared himself to hear the same platitudes used to describe his civilian self: handsome, polite, accomplished, etc. He yawned and stretched out his body to its full length on the rooftop. He propped his head on one arm and crossed his legs at the ankles.

“I love him because of his kindness.”

“He’s kind! That is indeed spectacularly special, M’Lady,” Chat chuckled. Ladybug did not miss the sarcasm in his voice.

Ladybug scowled at her partner. “He’s the type of person who would give you his umbrella in a rainstorm even if you were his enemy…or someone who unfairly misjudged him,” she recalled the moment when she fell for Adrien.

Chat cocked his head. That story sounded…familiar.  He regarded her, trying to see something that wouldn’t quite show itself. He supposed it wouldn’t do to disparage his civilian self too much. That would only work against him. Perhaps with this new information he had a chance, a second chance to win her heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said sitting up. “I shouldn’t tease you. I’m sure it was awful for you…seeing him die. Are you okay, M’Lady?” he asked with genuine concern. He had not meant to cause her any pain. He had merely reacted without thinking. She was in danger and he threw himself at her to push her out of the way. He gave no thought to his own safety, not even deterred by the fact that he was not wearing his miraculous super suit at the time.

Ladybug nodded, silently accepting his apology. She recognized his sincerity and contrition by the way his cat ears fell flat on his head. “It was awful. It felt like my heart was ripped out and my whole world went black.” She sat down heavily next to him.

“But, he’s okay now. You have nothing to worry about,” Chat took her hand in his and then patted the top of it with his other hand. She smiled despite her watery eyes, appreciating the comfort he offered her.

“Aaaand…” he stretched out the word, “he must like you a lot to be willing to sacrifice himself for you.” He meant it to cheer her up, but it had the opposite effect.

She shook her head. “That’s what I’m worried about. Adrien’s told his friends that he doesn’t regret it and worse he would do it again if given the opportunity. He’s in love with me, or rather with _Ladybug_.”

“How do you know that?” he asked as his cat ears straightened up suddenly. Had she somehow overheard his conversation earlier today? Do they know each other?

“He’s friends with Alya from the LadyBlog. She told me out of concern. She thinks I should try to dissuade him.” It was a plausible enough story to explain how Ladybug would know of the conversation, of which she was actually a part of as her civilian self.

Chat’s brows furrowed. “And what do you think?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea,” she answered uncertainly. She bit her lower lip as she considered what might happen.

“What do you mean?” Chat leaned in closer to her. This was getting interesting.

“I kinda have a hard time talking to him…at least as my civilian self and sometimes even as Ladybug. I get flustered. I’m not sure I would be that convincing.”

“Wait, does he not know how you feel? Are you two not together?” He asked playing dumb.

“No, I’ve never told him how I feel about him,” she shook her head.

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t see me, the civilian me. We’re friends, but he doesn’t think of me that way.”

“I see…” he frowned thinking. “ _So, I do know her. She’s a friend, but…who?_ ” he asked himself. “ _Someone at school? At work?_ ” Chat’s natural curiosity started to get the better of him despite the promise he made to respect her secret identity.

“Hmm…well, it’s probably worth a try. I mean if you really think he might do it again, then probably the only way to dissuade him would be a harsh word from you as Ladybug, of course. Who else would he listen to besides you, the girl that he loves?” Chat asked.

“I suppose...I should at least try for his own sake.”

“But, don’t be too hard on him. He did save your life after all,” he reminded her. “You should probably at least thank him first.” Chat really did not want to be yelled at again today, he’d already gotten enough of that.

“Okay, thanks, Chaton,” she stood up and unwound her yo-yo from her waist.

“Leaving already, M’Lady?” he asked raising his head up to look at her.

“No time like the present…” she said.

“Wait!” He stood up suddenly. “You’re going now? To see Adrien?”

“Yes, before I lose my nerve,” she pounded her fist in her other hand to show her determination.

“Uh…” he had to buy himself sometime to beat her to his house first. “You know, you shouldn’t go there empty handed. I mean, it wouldn’t be out of the question to give him something.”

“Like a present?” she asked surprised.

“I was thinking more like a reward, but whatever you think best, M’Lady. For my part I think I will send him a fruit basket with my deepest regards,” he smirked to himself.

Ladybug quirked an eyebrow skeptically.

“Even if he is my competition I still appreciate his quick thinking and sacrifice. Yes, such a brave act deserves a proper reward,” he nodded as he considered. He looked sideways at her and then hummed, “You should kiss him.”

“What!?!” Ladybug’s face flushed as red as her mask.

“What?” Chat asked innocently.

“You _want_ me to kiss…another boy?” Ladybug could not believe her ears.

“Not ‘another boy’, the boy who saved your life. He’s a hero!” Chat pointed out.

“I’m _not_ kissing him,” she said with determination as she crossed her arms and looked away. Chat smirked to himself. That was exactly how he thought she would respond.

“Why not? You said you loved him. This is the perfect opportunity to tell him how you feel.”

“For one, I don’t want to encourage him to do a repeat performance of saving me. And two, I don’t want him to love me…the Ladybug me. I want him to love the girl behind the mask.”

“Well, I still think he deserves a reward,” he pouted. “If not a kiss, then the next best thing.” _He laid the trap._

“What’s that?” she asked. _Trap sprung._

“Cookies,” he replied sincerely.

“Cookies? How is that the next best thing?”

“Look at him,” Chat pointed to giant Adrien on the billboard. “He’s starving! If ever I have seen someone in desperate need of cookies, it’s Adrien Agreste.”

Ladybug looked doubtful, “He’s a model! He’s on a strict diet.”

“They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Feed him and I’m sure he’ll do whatever you ask, even _not_ save you.”

Ladybug shook her head, “Chaaat…”

“Now, don’t skimp,” he advised. “Only the best cookies in Paris will do. Go to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery at 12 Rue Gotlib.”

“It’s the best?” she tried to contain a laugh at the compliment he paid to her parents’ bakery.

“Absolutely! Not only do they make the best baked goods in all of Paris, but they are also the kindest people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. If you are so fond of kind people, L.B., then you must go to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.”

“I’ll do that, then,” she smiled. “Do you go there often?” she couldn’t help asking. She was sure that if Chat Noir ever came into the bakery then her parents would have told her. Since that had not happened, she wondered if maybe she had seen him in his civilian form and not even known it.

“Not as often as I would like, but when I do I’m never disappointed. I recommend the macarons,” he smiled his lopsided grin at the thought of the tasty treats. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you. Good luck, M’Lady,” he smiled as he patted her affectionately on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Chaton.” Ladybug was about to throw out her yo-yo when she hesitated. “I’m glad we can talk like this. I appreciate the advice,” she turned to him and he could see the fondness in her eyes.

“Of course! What are friends for? I would be honored to help you any time you like with your boy troubles.”

“You…you would?” she asked in surprise.

He nodded, “And perhaps you can return the favor and help me with my girl troubles?”

“You…you have girl troubles?” Ladybug didn’t know how to feel about that. She had gotten used to him being in love with her. Had he stopped? Had he found someone else? She frowned suspiciously, or was she the ‘girl trouble’?

“Yes, but that’s not for today. You have cookies to buy and a boy to set straight. Now go!” he shooed her off the ledge, waving as she swung away in the direction of the bakery. When she was out of sight he turned on his heel, sprinted across the roof, and jumped, extending his baton to launch him forward back toward his house. Soon he’d be visited by Ladybug and he had to figure out what he would wear.


	2. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug tells Chat Noir about her meeting with Adrien.

Chat sat waiting on one of the platforms of the Eiffel Tower replaying in his head yesterday’s visit from Ladybug at his house. A soft smile curled his lips and he sighed happily as he leaned on one of the girders. His cat ears twitched as they picked up the sound of air rushing followed by a light thud.

“How did it go?” Chat asked biting the inside of his cheek to remove the lovesick grin that had been stuck on his face since last night.

“Awful!” Ladybug wailed as she slumped down next to her partner.

“That bad?” Chat asked in surprise.

“Worse!” she covered her face with her hands at the memory.

“Awww…he didn’t like the cookies?” Chat feigned concern.

“Oh no! He liked them alright. He ate almost the whole box in one go!”

“See? I told you, he’s starving,” he smirked.

Ladybug shook her head in dismay while pulling on her pigtails.

“Okay, okay, tell Chat all about it,” he soothed as he rubbed his hand in circles across her shoulder blades.

“On the whole, it went fairly well. I mean, I was nervous, don’t get me wrong, but I think I hid it pretty well despite the fact that um...”

Chat nodded in encouragement even though he could not agree with her. She stuttered and blushed almost the whole time, not that it was entirely her fault. After all, when she first got there Adrien was only wearing …

“A towel?” Chat howled, “You caught him in a towel!”

“He was just coming out of the shower,” Ladybug blushed. “His skin was still all glisten-y.” She absentmindedly fanned herself with her hand feeling her face grow hot at the thought.

“Did you take it off of him or did it just happen to fall?” Chat wigged his eyebrows.

“What!?! NO! He changed immediately…into a bathrobe.”

“Not much better,” he chided.

“No, no, you’re right. It was _really_ distracting.” Her eyes glazed over as she thought about how the neck of the robe opened a little more each time Adrien talked, revealing his smooth skin and chiseled pecks.

“Okay, so Adrien’s in a robe. You’re distracted. Then what?” Chat’s voice snapped Ladybug back to their discussion on the Eiffel Tower.

“I thanked him for saving me and gave him the cookies.”

“Which he inhaled, go on,” Chat nodded.

“I tried to explain how he shouldn’t have saved me and that he can’t do that again, but…” her voice trailed off. Chat raised an eyebrow, silently asking her to continue.

“He went on and on about how much he admired me. How I’m so brave and strong. And how much I care about people that I’m willing to make all of these sacrifices, not just risking my life, but leading a double life and lying to people I care about to keep them safe. He recognized how lonely that must be and how scared I must feel to have all that responsibility, to have all of Paris depending on me. It’s like he understood everything I go through as Ladybug!” she marveled. “No one’s ever talked to me like that before. It’s always about how glamorous or exciting it must be to be a superhero or wanting to know about my powers. Never about how I feel or my struggles. It was…refreshing!”

“He sounds very insightful,” Chat agreed.

“Yeah, it was _so_ not what I was expecting. I thought he just idolized me like everyone else, but…I think he sees me as a real person. You know, he sees that there’s just an ordinary girl underneath the mask.” Ladybug felt a warm glow throughout her body at the thought.

“You are _not_ ordinary with or without the mask,” Chat corrected.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at her partner, “Thank you. But, you know what I mean.”

“So, he’s not just a fanboy then? He really appreciates you? ‘Sees you’ as you like to say?” Chat bit the inside of his cheek again to keep from smiling.

“Yeah, you know, I think he really does. It just made me like him more!” She brought her knees up to her chin and squeezed her legs with her arms as if she was giving Adrien a hug.

“I’m not seeing how this meeting went badly, L.B.…”

“Wait. I’m coming to that part. So, there I am, hearing him say all of these amazing, sensitive things about me and I…I…” she buried her head in her knees.

“You…you…”

“Ikissedhim!” she squeaked although her knees muffled her words.

“I’m sorry, I thought you said you kissed him,” Chat tried to clarify.

“I did! Okay? I KISSED HIM! Happy?” Ladybug looked positively mortified to admit it.

Actually, Chat was extremely happy about the kiss, ecstatic even! Kissing Ladybug was the high point of his life.

“My feelings about you kissing Adrien Agreste are a topic for another conversation. What I want to know is how do you feel about it? Are _you_ happy?”

“Yes! No! I don’t know!” Ladybug threw up her hands in exasperation. “I mean, I was happy at the time!”

“You liked kissing him?”

“Yeeaah,” Ladybug looked like she was melting on the spot at just the memory.

Chat giggled. “I knew you were going to _kiss him off_ , but I didn’t expect such a thorough _tongue lashing._ ”

“It’s not funny,” she chided as she came to her senses.

“You meant to smack some sense into him, but instead you gave him lip _smacks_ that left him senseless!”

“You’re not helping,” Ladybug scowled. 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Go ahead with your story,” Chat said trying to get control over his laughter.

“I don’t know what came over me. It was like he looked right into my soul, knew me so well, understood everything and I just…grabbed him and smashed my mouth onto him,” she shook her head, cringing at the memory.

Chat chortled.

“Stop laughing! This is serious!”

“Seriously funny!” he snickered, but then seeing her death stare he took a breath to try to calm himself. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. So, you jumped his bones and then what? He didn’t like it?”

“Oh no, he _liked_ it…a lot. Will you please stop laughing and focus? This is a bad thing!” Ladybug cursed herself for having such an immature partner, who could not seem to get rid of his laughing fit.

When he finally calmed down enough, Chat asked, “Enjoying kissing the boy you love and he in return is a bad thing because…why?”

“Because he kissed Ladybug and not me!” the spotted superhero whined.

“Um…do you need a mirror? You _are_ Ladybug.”

“No, I’m really not. I’m just clumsy, ordinary me. The miraculous gives me the power. _It_ is Ladybug,” she shook her head.

“First of all, I told you already with the mask on or off you are _not ordinary_. Second, that is complete bullshit!” Chat’s cursing and the forcefulness with which he spoke surprised Ladybug.

“You chose to put those earrings on. Every day you choose to go out there,” he pointed out toward the city, “and fight not because you want to, but because you know it’s the right thing to do. You sacrifice your own needs and desires, your own life even, for the sake of others. That’s who _you_ are. Ladybug is the mask and the yo-yo, the means to do what you do, but _you_ are the one doing it.”

Ladybug sat there stunned. She had never heard Chat talk so seriously or passionately about anything before now. She thought he idolized her just like the rest, but she realized she should have known better. He’s her partner. If anyone knew her, then it was Chat, even if he didn’t know her real name.

“You…you sound like Adrien when he talks about me,” she laughed a bit nervously.

“Yeah? Well, maybe I ‘ _see_ ’ you, too. Maybe it’s you with the vision problem. Maybe you can’t ‘ _see_ ’ yourself very well.”

Ladybug chewed on her bottom lip as she eyed her partner.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she offered.

“I know,” he sighed. “I didn’t mean to get upset. I’m not really…just frustrated.”

“With me,” she completed his sentence.

He nodded, “Yeah, I am…a little bit.” He sighed as he folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. I also think that you’re too hard on yourself.”

“I just wished he loved the civilian side of me, too,” she said quietly, “then I wouldn’t doubt his feelings for me. Loving Ladybug is easy. Loving Ma— _me_ isn’t.”

Chat stared at his partner wondering why she felt her civilian self was so unlovable.

“Ugh! I’m such an idiot! How do I get myself into these situations? I’m so mad at myself!” she cried.

Chat shook his head, “You don’t have any reason to be mad at yourself...”

 “You’re right,” she interrupted. “Actually, I should be mad at _you_ ,” Ladybug pointed a finger at her partner.

“ME? What did I do?” Chat asked offended as he threw his arms up into the air.

“You put the thought in my head. You told me to kiss him!”

Chat smirked, “I was kidding! I didn’t think you’d actually do it.” He did manipulate her, but only to get cookies. He really didn’t think she would kiss him as Adrien.

“Neither did I…” Ladybug got up and started to pace. “This is horrible! Now I’ve encouraged him. He probably thinks I like him.”

“You _do_ like him,” Chat reminded her as he followed her with his eyes, back and forth as she paced.

“That’s not the point. He didn’t _know_ I liked him before I kissed him.” She stopped her pacing suddenly, “Oh! Now he’ll probably try to save me again! Oh God, if I have to watch him die again…” She grabbed both of her pigtails and pulled.

 “I doubt that’s likely to happen.” Chat decided he would have to be more careful in the future. “And even if it does you know you’re going to bring him and everybody else back safe and sound. You always do.”

She nodded slightly, but said nothing.

“You know, I think you are making this more difficult than it needs to be,” Chat said refolding his arms across his chest. “Adrien loves you, does it really matter which side of you he loves? He probably can’t allow himself to love your civilian side when he’s already in love with your Ladybug side. He would be betraying Ladybug.”

“But, he hardly knows Ladybug!” she moaned. “We’ve only come into contact a few times during akuma attacks. And I spend practically every day with him as my civilian self.”

 _“Ah-ha!_ ” he thought. “ _She must go to my school. Maybe she’s in my class..._ ”

“Yes,” he agreed. “I can see how that must be very frustrating…and hurtful.” Ladybug didn’t know that Adrien had a lot more contact with her as her partner, Chat Noir.

They both fell quiet. Ladybug thought about Adrien while Chat thought about the girl behind her mask.

“I wonder…” he started. She looked up hoping he had some advice or solution. He shook his head not sure if he should say, but she waved her hand in encouragement to finish his thought.

“I wonder if you have really given Adrien the opportunity to notice you. I mean, you did say that you’re friends, but are you good friends or just acquaintances?”

“Not good friends, but more than acquaintances.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know you well enough to ‘see’ you. Or, perhaps your inability to talk to him has given him the wrong impression about you. Maybe he thinks you’re scared of him or, I don’t know, that you don’t like him?”

“That’s ridiculous! Adrien and I are friends, I mean not close friends, but we’re together with our other friends all of the time. Of course, he knows I like him.” Ladybug asserted, but then grew quiet as she replayed a recent interaction from the past weekend in her head.

> “Hi, Marinette!”
> 
> “A-adrien!” she squeaked back.
> 
> “Fancy meeting you here,” Adrien smiled as his eyes danced in surprise.
> 
> “Y-yeah, you’re so fancy…,” she replied dreamily. “No, no not fancy! Girls are fancy and you’re not a girl, nope you’re a guy. Yep, 100% guy. So, you can’t possibly be fancy.” Marinette laughed uneasily.
> 
> “Okaaay…”
> 
> “Yeah, you’re impressive, that’s what I meant, you’re so impressive! W-wait, um, no, that’s is, I’m _impressed_ that you’re _here_.” Her face felt like it was on fire.
> 
> “You’re impressed that I’m at the grocery store?” he asked puzzled.
> 
> “W-well…um yeah, I mean don’t you have s-servants that get you things, s-shop for you?”
> 
> “Actually, I think our chef places an order and has it delivered,” Adrien explained.
> 
> “Oh right, sure, chef…that’s great. S-so then um w-what are you doing here?”
> 
> “Oh! I had to pick up some cheese,” he wiggled the wheel at her. “We ran out and I couldn’t wait until the next delivery. So, here I am…”
> 
> “Camembert,” she noticed. “Yum!” Although she did not really sell her enthusiasm for the smelly cheese.
> 
> “You have a lot of bags. Would you like a ride home?” Adrien pointed to his car parked down the street. “It’s no bother. My driver won’t mind.”
> 
> “O-oh no! No! I’m fine,” she stressed. “I can w-walk. I like walking. I walk everywhere. GottaGoNow!”
> 
> “Okay, then,” a shadow of disappointment passed over his face before he forced himself to smile. “I guess I’ll see you at school on Monday then. ‘Bye!”
> 
> She couldn’t even reply. She was too mad at herself for passing up the opportunity to spend even more time with him, alone in the back seat of his car. She only managed an awkward wave.

“Okay, I concede the point. He probably has no idea that I, I mean my civilian side, like him,” Ladybug sat back down next to Chat with a thump.

“So, you can’t really blame him for not ‘seeing’ you, right? Or, at the very least not making it known to you that he ‘sees’ you, since you seem less than interested in him.”

“I suppose…”

“Okay, good,” Chat smiled.

“How is that good?” Ladybug asked bewildered.

“ _For you, it’s not, but for me, or at least Adrien, it’s good_ ,” he thought. “I’m just trying to establish that this Adrien fellow is worthy of you. I mean, you shouldn’t give your heart to just anyone. So, he recognized your amazingness as Ladybug because you have no qualms about showing it and he recognized that there is someone in here,” he pointed to her heart, “despite the super suit, which you recognize as being pretty uncommon. So, I just want to make sure that the reason he hasn’t ‘seen’ your civilian side is because either you haven’t shown him the real you, I mean the non-stuttering, normally colored you, or that he has noticed you, but never approached you because you seem so uncomfortable around him. Is that plausible?”

“Yes, I think so,” Ladybug furrowed her brows in thought.

“Okay, then. See? Good. There’s hope.”

“Hope? To fix all of this?”

“Yep,” Chat popped his “p” at the end of the word, “because I have a plan.”


	3. It's Not You, It's Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat tells Ladybug his plan for breaking Adrien's heart.

“Really? What’s your plan?” Ladybug asked excitedly.

“Are you sure you want my help? I mean I kind of feel like I may be overstepping. You are more than capable of handling this. And, I have a conflict of interest. He is my competition. You know, I should really bow out of this now,” Chat stood up to leave.

“CHAT NOIR! You sit right back down this instant and help me!” Ladybug yelled. “Please!” she added a bit quieter. “I need help, please!” she begged a bit overdramatically. It’s not like she had anyone else that could help her. She had toyed with the idea of asking Alya, since she had some contact with her through the LadyBlog, but dismissed it as being too dangerous. Alya was too keen on finding out her secret identity. Giving her personal information such as the name of Ladybug’s crush, who was also Marinette’s crush, might make it too easy for the reporter to connect the dots.

“Okay, if you say so, but I want it on the record that I tried to extricate myself from this whole thing. So, you know, when it goes badly…”

“I won’t blame you and I won’t be mad. I promise.” Ladybug used her finger to mime drawing a cross over her heart.

“Okay, L.B. I’m going to hold you to that promise,” Chat warned. Once she nodded, he continued, “Okay my plan is simple: Step 1, get Adrien to fall _out_ of love with Ladybug; Step 2, get Adrien to fall _in_ love with your civilian self.”

“That’s it? That’s all you got?” Ladybug exclaimed throwing up her hands, “I could have come up with that!”

“No, that’s not all I’ve got. I have a very detailed plan. I just gave you the broad strokes.”

Ladybug bit her lip. “All right tell me more about how you would get Adrien to fall out of love with me.”

“Very well,” Chat nodded in agreement. “All you have to do is sully your good name.”

“Sully my…what are you talking about?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Do something so awful as Ladybug that Adrien won’t be able to love you anymore.”

“Like what? Steal a painting from the Louvre?”

“No, no that’s been done,” Chat waved his hand dismissively. “Copy Cat already did that when he tried to sully _my_ good name.” He placed his hand nobly over his heart. “No, L.B. you’re going to have to do something worse.”

Chat rubbed his hands together and then mimed rolling up his sleeves. “This could be fun! We can get creative. Let’s see…you could kidnap Adrien and hold him for ransom. No, no that won’t work. Adrien would probably enjoy that. Hmmm…what could you do?” Chat tapped his chin while thinking.

“I could kill my partner,” Ladybug offered, eying Chat.

“I would gladly die for you, M’Lady, but only to save your life, not to dissuade your crush from loving you.”

“How about maim? I could maim you,” Ladybug replied dryly.

“M’Lady!” Chat clutched his heart, “You wound me! I’m trying to help you! I don’t think you even appreciate my efforts.”

“Be serious! I need help.”

“What? I am helping,” Chat defended himself.

“Suggesting that I become a criminal is not helping. You know I can’t do that!”

“Too bad. I was looking forward to chasing you down and putting you in handcuffs,” he wiggled his eyebrows. Ladybug punched him hard in the arm. Chat let out a pained cry as he rubbed his hurt bicep.

“You are having waaaaay too much fun with this!” she chastised.

“I’m sorry, M’Lady. I was only teasing. I really do have a plan to make Adrien fall out of love with you. A serious one.”

“No, no, thanks any way, Chaton,” Ladybug sighed. “I’ll come up with something on my own,” she replied a bit hesitantly. “You’re right, you should stay out of this. It’s between Adrien and me.”

“Very well, L.B. I wish you good luck,” Chat stood and bowed low to her.

“You’re leaving?” Ladybug asked in surprise.

“Yes, it’s not my patrol night and since you don’t need my help, then I’ll go. Good night, M’Lady.” Chat gave her a two-fingered salute and jumped off of the platform. He wasn’t sure if he just missed out on a golden opportunity, but it felt more like he just missed a bullet that would have ended their partnership, friendship, and any hope of a romantic relationship. He had dug himself a hole and she had just thrown him a rope. He’d be damned if he hung himself with it.

Ladybug watched him go, “Stupid cat.”

\-----O-----

“Chat?”

“Yes, L.B.?”

“I’d really like to hear your _serious_ plan…in full,” she said repentantly as she sat down next to him on the ledge of a roof overlooking the Seine.

“Didn’t go very well last night? Had some trouble?”

“Maybe,” she twisted her fingers in her hands. “He was very difficult to dissuade. Adrien’s rather stubborn.”

“You kissed him again, didn’t you?”

Ladybug opened her mouth to deny it, but knew better than to lie. She nodded mournfully.

“Whatever your plan is, I hope I don’t have to see Adrien again as Ladybug,” she replied, “I’ll just end up kissing him.”

“Are you sure you need a plan? Can’t you just accept him and his love? Just trust he loves all of you even if he doesn’t know your name?” Chat asked hopefully as a last ditched attempt.

“No, I can’t. I’ll always wonder. Now please, tell me your plan,” she entreated. Her eyes bespoke her desperation and Chat sighed knowing he was probably killing any hope for them in the future by helping her now, yet he could not resist those eyes of hers, asking for his help.

Chat open his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He pursed his lips as he regarded his partner. “I don’t know,” he said doubtfully, “if this is going to work, then you’re going to have to see Adrien again, at least once. You’re going to have to control yourself.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“You’re only hurting yourself by kissing him as Ladybug. He’s only going to fall harder and then it’ll be that much more difficult to get him to fall out of love.”

“I know, I know,” she groaned.

“Are you sure you can’t just let him love you as Ladybug and you love him back? It would be so much easier.” He tried again to reason with her.

“No, Chat! I’m sure. I need him to love the civilian me or else I’ll never be able to trust that his love for me is real,” Ladybug spoke with certainty. “Now, tell me what I have to do.”

“Okay, it’s easy. All you have to do is tell him that there’s someone else that you’re in love with and so you can’t be with him.”

“Someone else?” Ladybug asked in confusion, but then her eyes narrowed suspiciously, “Who?”

Chat smirked, “Me!” 

Ladybug jumped to her feet, “Ha! You said this idea wouldn’t ruin my reputation!”

“It wouldn’t…would it?” Chat’s ears went flat against his head and his tailed wrapped around his waist in comfort. “ _Would being perceived as dating me really be so awful?_ ” he wondered.

“I knew this was a dumb idea! And here I thought you’re really trying to help me,” she continued.

“I am trying to help you, L.B.!” Chat insisted as he stood up, too.

“No, you’re laughing at me. You’re just winding me up for a laugh,” she crossed her arms and turned away from him in anger.

“Honestly, M’Lady I’m not. Please, this is a good idea.” When she wouldn’t turn around to face him, he said much quieter, “I should know, I lost hope that you’d ever return my feelings when you told me there was someone else.”

Ladybug turned around finding Chat with his eyes downcast and his lower lip sticking out slightly. Her anger immediately evaporated.

“Chat…”

“All we can do is try,” he said. “I can’t guarantee he’ll fall out of love with you, since I didn’t, but he’ll at least get the message that there’s no hope for him. If he’s smart he’ll stop pining for you. I think it’s worth a try…” He tried to smile, but she could see the sadness in his eyes, but just for a second she thought she saw a flicker of hope. She felt a pang of guilt for the pain she had caused him by rejecting him.

“Okay, Chat. I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s try it.”

\-----O-----

“Chat? I know you’re here. Stop hiding! Come out, you silly cat.”

“No cats here, only an adoring model,” a tall blonde boy responded as he stepped out of the shadows.

Ladybug jumped in surprise, “A-adrien?”

“In the flesh.”

He slowly walked closer and Ladybug squinted. His smile seemed painted on and his eyes…glowed?

“Chat! What are you wearing?”

“Not Chat, _Adrien_ ,” Chat replied. He had cut out a headshot of himself sans mask from a fashion magazine cover, poked holes in the eyes, and then taped it to his mask. “I’m Adrien.”

“This is weird…”

“It’s not weird. I’m just a guy talking to a girl…”

“You got this from _Deadpool_ , didn’t you?”

“Just talk to me. I’m happy to see you, Ladybug. Is there something you wanted to tell me?” Chat asked leading her along. “Or, would you rather we just kiss?” He stretched his arms our awkwardly and made kissing noises.

“Talk! I came to talk,” she replied quickly. Ladybug took a breath to calm herself. “Adrien…”

“Yes?”

Ladybug shook her head trying to somehow equate Adrien’s head on Chat’s body.

“Adrien, I came to tell you that I made a mistake. I shouldn’t of kissed you.”

“Mistakes,” he corrected.

“W-what?”

“We kissed more than once. Two separate occasions, seven kisses, so mistake _s_?” He stressed the “s” on the end of mistake.

“I don’t think that’s how Adrien would respond,” Ladybug argued.

“No?” Chat broke character. “Okay how about this?”

Chat lowered his head, took a breath, raised his head and then suddenly dropped to one knee and stretched his clasped hands out toward her.

“Please, Ladybug!” he cried out. “Please don’t say that! I love you! I need you!” He crawled on his knees toward her and wrapped his arms around one of her legs.

“Nope. Try again,” Ladybug laughed as she gave her leg a shake to free it from his grasp.

Chat released her leg and stood up, brushing dirt from his suit. He straightened his Adrien mask, which had slipped on one side.

“Alright. Give me your line again.”

Ladybug straightened, “Adrien, I came to tell you that I made a mistake. I shouldn’t of kissed you.”

“Did I do something wrong?” He asked simply.

The change in his voice and posture surprised Ladybug. She blinked.

“No, no, you did nothing wrong…”

“Then, why was it a mistake?” He took a step closer, “You don’t like me?”

“No, I do. Of course, I do. It’s just…I like someone else,” Ladybug flailed her hands in front of her.

“You like us both?” Another step closer.

“Um…no. Well, yes. Wait,” her brows furrowed in confusion.

“I’m okay with you liking both of us…” He completely closed the gap between them.

“You…you are?” Ladybug asked bewildered and hopeful.

He nodded slowly. “As long as I still can kiss you…” he whispered, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

Her eyes fluttered closed. “Adrien,” she breathed.

Chat tsked loudly as he took a step backwards. Ladybug fell a bit forward at the loss of contact and her eyes snapped open.

“Fail!” Chat shook his head. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” he said almost to himself. “You really have it bad. I think you should just give up, give in, and be happy, L.B. You clearly can’t fight it.”

“I-I can, too!” she replied as if she was 5 years old. “You…you tricked me!” she sputtered.

“I did no such thing,” he claimed with his arms up in mock surrender.

“You look like him…” she grabbed the Adrien photo mask from his face, “and you _sound_ just like him.”

“That’s the point. If you can’t help but kiss me when I’m _pretending_ to be Adrien, then how are you ever going to resist the real thing?”

“I don’t know,” she moaned as she thumped crossed legged onto the floor in defeat. “I see his face and I just…” she held Adrien’s picture before her, “melt. All reason goes out the window!”

He knelt down and sat beside her. “You have to stay the course. Don’t get sucked in. Say what you have to say and get out,” he advised.

Chat took Adrien’s picture from her and held it out before him. “’Adrien, I came to tell you that I made a mistake. I shouldn’t of kissed you. I’m in love with someone else.’ Done. Easy. Just rip it off, like a band aid.”

“Have you actually ever done that?” she asked. “It hurts like hell when you rip it off.”

“Well, it hurts like hell when you draw it out, too. If it must be done, then just do it.”

“I don’t want to hurt him,” she moaned.

“Then, don’t! By all means, L.B., love the poor fool. Be with him! Please!” Chat threw up his hands in exasperation.

She shook her head no. Not as Ladybug. It would have to be as Marinette or nothing.

He sighed, “Then, you _will_ hurt him. You have to accept that. But, by prolonging it you are just going to confuse him and hurt him worse. Be strong, be brave, be merciless.”

“He’s going to hate me,” her head fell into her hands.

“Probably…well, maybe,” he considered her. “If he really loves you, then he’ll forgive you.” He paused wondering if he should continue. “I did,” he said softly.

She pulled her head out of her hands and looked up at him in surprise. He gave her a warm smile and bumped her shoulder with his own.

“Come on. Get up,” he said as he stood. He offered her a hand up. “Let’s try again…”


	4. Best Laid Plans...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir confesses to Ladybug about his crush on Marinette.

“Well? How did Adrien take it? Did you crush your crush?” Chat asked as he looked over the city.

“Not exactly…”

“Oh no! Don’t tell me you kissed him again?” Chat asked in dismay as he turned around to face her.

“No, no, I kept it together,” Ladybug stepped closer, “Adrien just didn’t believe me that you and I are…a thing.”

“Probably because you don’t sound very convincing. What did you say?”

“Just what you told me to! That I’m in love with you. And, then he laughed. A lot.”

Chat screwed up his mouth. “Yeah, that is funny,” he replied ruefully.

Adrien hadn’t meant to laugh. All the times that they practiced Ladybug consistently said, “I love _someone else_.” But, then when the moment came her words were, “I love _Chat Noir_.” It felt like such a ridiculous statement that he couldn’t help, but laugh. Adrien knew full well Ladybug was lying and badly. She didn’t love Chat; she loves Adrien. It’s such a ridiculous situation claiming to love one half of him to break the heart of the other half of him after already breaking the former half of him’s heart, and, to top it all off he was helping her to do it! He was basically taking his own heart out of his chest, placing it at Ladybug’s feet, and asking her to stomp on it _again_. He had to laugh, because if he didn’t, then he’d cry.

“What do you mean? You _told_ me to say that?” Ladybug reminded him clenching her hands at her sides.

“I told you to say you were in love with _someone else_. I didn’t say me.”

“Yes, you did!” Ladybug pointed her finger accusingly at her partner. “I asked you who the someone else is and you said, ‘Me!’” She aped Chat’s response.

“Oh! I did say that, didn’t I?” He rubbed his face in frustration. “Sorry, L.B. I didn’t realize how ridiculous it sounded.”

Ladybug’s mouth opened as if she was about to say something and then closed it. She closed her eyes, too. She silently counted to 10 trying to calm her anger.

“Great! Great plan, Chat!” Ladybug began pacing. “I should have known. I’m the strategist after all. Why would I ever trust a plan designed by you?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Chat’s cat ears fell against his head and his shoulders sagged. “It was a stupid idea. I’m stupid.” He chastised himself. It all should have worked fine if he had just followed the script and looked sad. He didn’t even have to say anything. All he had to do was look like the world was crumbling around him. All he had to do was look like how he felt now and all would have been fine. Too late.

Ladybug stopped her pacing, realizing she had hurt her partner when all he had done was try to help her.

“No, Chaton, you’re not stupid. It was a good idea, just poorly implemented. And that was my fault, not yours. I’m sorry.”

Chat nodded indicating he accepted her apology, although he still acted subdued. He still felt to blame. He hadn’t meant to mess it up, but mess it up he did.

“I just don’t understand it,” Ladybug sat down and patted the spot next to her, inviting Chat to join, “Adrien feels that it’s pretty clear that I _don’t_ like you…at all.” She shook her head. When she noticed Chat lower his head, she quickly added, “He’s wrong! I like you! I like you a lot!” Ladybug insisted.  “I mean, we’re partners, I trust you with my life. It’s just that Adrien watches the clips from our battles on the LadyBlog and you know how that is. Everything is taken out of context. He thinks just cuz I roll my eyes at you a lot and pushed you into the Seine that one time that I don’t like you. When really that’s the furthest thing from the truth. I mean, you know I’m just teasing…right?”

 “You don’t like my puns,” Chat moped.

“That’s not true! I like… _some_ of your puns,” she tried to sound encouraging. “What I don’t like is your _timing_. Sometimes I think it’d be better to focus on the task at hand, you know, stopping the akuma?”

“Hmph. You don’t like my flirting,” Chat sulked, looking away.

“Well, that’s because I know it’s not sincere. You flirt with every girl, right?”

“No! I only flirt with you!” Chat crossed his arms and spun around on his bottom so as not to face her.

“What about that girl that helped us against Evil Illustrator? What was her name?” Ladybug played dumb.

“Marinette?” Chat asked turning his head around toward her.

“Yes, Marinette. She told me that you flirted with her,” Ladybug shook her finger at the black feline.

“Oh, well, you can’t blame me for flirting with Marinette…” Pink dusted Chat’s cheeks as he looked away from her.

“And why not?” Ladybug crossed her arms.

Chat turned back to see a displeased Ladybug. He was going to have to tell her the truth.

“Wweellll, the thing is…,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “The thing is I um kinda have a small, miniscule, microscopic even…” He pinched two fingers together to indicate the small size.

“SPIT. IT. OUT.”

“I have a crush on Marinette,” Chat hung his head.

“Wait. WHAT?”

“But she’s the only other girl I’ve ever flirted with besides you. _I swear_.” Chat proclaimed crossing his heart. “And, it was completely harmless because she doesn’t like me anyway.”

“You have a crush on me-- _Marinette_?” she hurriedly tried to cover her blunder.

“Huh. I seem to only like girls that don’t like me back. I wonder what that’s about?” Chat quietly asked almost to himself as he leaned his chin on his hand.

“But, you only just met her when we fought Evil Illustrator!” Ladybug could not wrap her brain around her partner having a crush on her civilian self. “You’ve only ever come into contact with her during akuma attacks.”

“No, I kno—“

 “You know her? You know her! Oh my god! You know her as your civilian self?” Ladybug felt a thrill run up her spine.

“I did _not_ say that,” Chat shook his head. “ _You_ said that.”

Ladybug looked at him like she was trying to imagine him without the mask. How did she know him?

“ _Does he go to my school? He’s been to the bakery before, so have I waited on him?_ ” she asked herself.

“Why do you like her?” The question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. “ _Why does it matter? I like Adrien, not Chat._ ”

“Um…you really want to know?” Chat wasn’t sure about the niceties of talking up one girl in front of another girl.

Ladybug nodded almost frantically.

“Marinette’s amazing,” he sighed. “She’s really talented. She wants to be a fashion designer and I have no doubt she’ll be a famous one soon. She’s really good. Even my da—uh designer friend thinks so. And, she’s really brave and not just when coming up against akumas. You remember Chloe Bourgeois, right?”

“How could I forget?” Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“Well, Marinette is always standing up to her. She’s not intimidated by the Mayor’s daughter like most people.”

“ _That must mean Chat goes to my school if he’s seen me interact with Chloe,_ ” she thought.

“And, I know how much you like kind people and she’s probably the kindest person I know, well after you of course, M’Lady,” he quickly corrected himself. “She’s always going out of her way to help people and not because she’s going to benefit somehow. She just likes to see people happy.”

“You make her sound…really wonderful.”

“Oh, she is! You’d like her, I think. Well, you sort of know her, but I think if you got to know her better then you two would be the best of friends. You’re so alike in so many ways!” Chat enthused excitedly.

“We…we are?”

“Uh-huh,” Chat smiled.

“Um…do you think…Marinette’s…uh pretty?” Ladybug felt nervous to hear the answer.

“No,” Chat answered seriously, “she’s _beautiful_!”

Ladybug stared speechless.

“Um, are you okay L.B.? Is all this talk about Marinette bothering you?” He didn’t want to offend her.

“No! No! I’m fine,” Ladybug squeaked an octave higher than normal. “Please go on. You say she’s beautiful? How so?’

“Well, her hair is really shiny. I bet it feels like silk. And, she has the kindest eyes and these adorable freckles that run over the bridge of her nose. And she has the cutest bu—“ Chat suddenly clapped his mouth shut.

“Were you about to say she has the cutest butt?” Ladybug asked not sure whether to be offended or flattered.

“What! No! I was going to say the cutest _button nose_ ,” Chat smirked devilishly as he easily covered what would have been an embarrassing admission.

“Uh-huh, sure…” Ladybug replied unconvinced. “So, why haven’t you told her all of this? Why haven’t you asked her out?”

“Like I said she doesn’t like me,” Chat said solemnly. “Not even as a friend.”

“How do you know?” Ladybug asked. There were only two people she could think of that she didn’t like and they were both girls, namely Chloe and Lila, well…maybe Sabrina, too.

“Well, when we teamed up to fight Evil Illustrator she pretended to be all excited, like a fangirl, but after the first moment or two I realized she was making fun of me. It’s kind of weird she did that because Marinette is usually so kind and she hates liars, so to fake something like that must mean she _really_ doesn’t like me.”

“Oh, well…um,” Ladybug didn’t really know what to say to excuse her bad behavior. Chat was showing off so much that she couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t meant for Chat to see that and she certainly hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings. Now, she felt ashamed of her behavior.

“And I know she doesn’t like my civilian self,” Chat continued. “Whenever we’re together she always acts really uncomfortable and tries to get away as quickly as possible. So yeah…no chance there.”

“Huh,” Ladybug rested her chin on her hand, thinking.

Chat sighed and then stood up.

“You’re leaving?” Ladybug asked.

“Uh…yeah. I think I need a run.” He took his baton out from where he had it secured on his back. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn with the discussion of Marinette. The exercise would do him some good. Hopefully, it would help to clear his head and if not, then at least exhaust him enough that he would fall asleep without too much trouble.

Ladybug stood up, too, and took her yo-yo from her hip.

“Actually, L.B. would you mind terribly if…”

“Oh! You want to be alone?” She tried to hide her disappointment. “Of course, Chat. I understand.” Her voice wavered just a bit and she could feel a lump forming in her throat.

“Thanks…I’m sorry we got off track. I wasn’t much help to you about Adrien,” he smiled sheepishly.

“That’s okay, Chaton. I wasn’t much help to you about Marinette,” she chewed on her lower lip nervously.

“Look, L.B. I’m sure given enough time Adrien will get over you eventually. And if he doesn’t then, that’s not your fault. It’ll be his choice to pine for you. But, I think…I think we should just leave it alone. All of this getting him to fall out of love with you only to get him to fall back in love with you, I think it’s a mistake. I think it’s just going to hurt everyone involved. I think we should just let it lie. Okay?”

Talking about Marinette made him sad, but it also made him realize that he was toying with Ladybug’s emotions. He would never want her to think he was playing a trick on her the way Marinette had done to him. He had to stop this or else it would eventually ruin everything that they had tried to rebuild with their partnership. Just because Ladybug loved his unmasked self did not give him the right to do anything about it as his masked self. It would be wrong to do so and certainly the way he had gone about it thus far was wrong. He felt ashamed at his selfishness.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she nodded, but she could feel the tears begin to prick in her eyes.

“And you know, there are lots of great guys out there, even someone better than Adrien. Maybe given enough time you can move on and find him, whoever he is. You deserve to be happy.” He smiled sincerely, but his eyes looked so sad it made Ladybug’s heart lurch up into her throat.

Chat turned to go.

“Wait, Chaton! What about you? Can’t you move on from Marinette?”

“I don’t know. If previous experience is any guide then probably not. I haven’t had any luck getting over you. Goodnight, M’Lday.”

And he was gone.


	5. All For Show?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LadyNoir kiss.

“M’Lady!” Chat had completed his run and was on his way home when he saw the silhouette of his partner against the city lights. “I didn’t expect to still find you out toni—“

Chat stopped talking abruptly as his night vision allowed him to see the tracks of tears on his partner’s cheeks. He knelt down and cocked his head to one side, trying to catch her eye.

“I’m so sorry! Did I hurt your feelings?” he asked concerned that perhaps his request for a private run had upset Ladybug.

She shook her head no.

“Do you want me to go?” Chat asked quietly.

She shook her head no again. He sat down next to her and then held his arms open to her, inviting her in for a hug. She gratefully accepted and leaned into his embrace. He held her for a few moments while the last of her tears fell. His warmth and willingness to be there for her made her feel safe and loved, but at the same time made her feel even more awful, like adding salt to a wound. Just more evidence of the wrongs she had committed.

Eventually, she broke the silence. “I’m an idiot,” she croaked.

“I highly doubt that, L.B.,” he said as he rubbed soothing circles across her shoulder blades.

“No, I am. I’ve been so blind, so stupid,” she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ve made so many mistakes!”

“Hmm…you know everyone makes mistakes,” he consoled.

“Well, this one was a real doozy!” she chuckled bitterly.

“Most mistakes can be fixed. It’s probably not too late. What are you going to do about it?”

“Huh?”

“Well the way I see it you have two options: one, beat yourself up for your mistake, or two, now that you know you made a mistake, actually do something about it, like fix it or learn from it. Based on how you look, I think you’ve taken option one far enough.”

Ladybug guffawed. She must look awful from crying.

“So, why don’t you figure out what you can do about it?” Chat asked.

“I’m not sure…” but the wheels were turning in her head.

“Can you tell me some details?” Chat asked knowing the answer would likely be no. “Maybe I can help…”

“You can help, Chaton,” she looked up at him with hope in her blue eyes. “You may be the only person who can help me.”

“Of course, M’Lady! Anything…” he felt giddy at the thought that she wanted his help and that he was the only person that could help.

“I need you to help me to get Adrien to fall out of love with Ladybug…”

Chat shook his head. He’d already said no to this bad idea.

“But, I don’t want you to help him fall in love with my civilian self,” Ladybug continued.

“You don’t?” he asked puzzled.

“No, I want you to help me fall out of love with _him_.”

“Uh…what now?”

“I want you to help my crush to get over me and to help _me_ get over my crush,” she explained in a most calm and rational voice.

“You know that sounds absolutely insane, don’t you? You’re asking me to help you break two hearts when you could so easily be happy together!” Chat felt like he was in some kind of alternate topsy-turvy world where up was down, black was white, and right was wrong.

“No, it makes perfect sense. If I know Adrien no longer loves Ladybug, then it’ll make it easier to let him go. And, I _need_ to let him go, Chat. It’s not going to happen. He’ll never see me, the real me; he’ll never love that side of me.”

“I don’t think that’s true…” he began.

“Please, Chat,” Ladybug insisted. “I need to get over him. You’re right. There are other guys out there. I’ve been holding myself back from being happy. And, I want to be happy. I want to be loved and to love someone. I don’t want to wish anymore, I want to live.” Her eyes looked so full of hurt that Chat couldn’t resist from reaching out to brush her cheek with his gloved hand if only to provide her with some comfort. She seemed to lean into his hand, appreciating the contact.

Chat could relate to the feelings Ladybug described. All he really wanted was to be loved and to be with someone who would let him love her. Obviously, he wanted that person to be Ladybug, but his feelings for Marinette had shown him that there were other possibilities open to him. There was hope of love with someone other than Ladybug. His heart had found someone to love that wasn’t Ladybug, specifically Marinette. Couldn’t it find someone to love that was not Marinette, too?

“Are you positive this is what you want to do?” he asked hoping she would reconsider. It still felt like a bad idea and dangerous ground for him to be intruding on.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she nodded her head with determination.

“And, you’re sure you need _my_ help?” he asked again hoping for absolution. “Wouldn’t a girlfriend be more helpful?”

“No, please, Chaton, you said you’d do anything.”

He looked into her bright, blue eyes and Chat was lost. How could he say no to his lady? He had promised he would do anything for her. He loved her. He would protect her, even die for her. Was it too much to ask of him to help her get over him so that she could love again and be happy? No, he would even do that for her.

The Angel on his right shoulder told him that he should help her with no selfish motives. He should not try to pursue her as Chat again once her heart was free of Adrien. She had rejected Chat and now she was trying to reject Adrien. He should respect her wishes. He owed her that.

The Devil on his left shoulder screamed that he was being given a second, no third opportunity to be with her. She had rejected Chat because she was in love with Adrien and so Chat never really had a fair chance. He deserved this chance. With Adrien out of the way he could pursue Ladybug as Chat and not have to deal with all of the pesky secret identity issues that Adrien was plagued with. Besides, he isn’t Adrien anyway. His true self is Chat. So, it was actually more honest to be with her as Chat than to be with her as Adrien, right?

“Okay, well then…how can I help?”

\-----O-----

Chat Noir knew it was going to happen. It had been Ladybug’s idea and he had agreed. They had worked out all of the details. It would happen after their next akuma battle. After they defeated the akuma they would wait at the scene for as long as possible for the media to arrive for all of Paris, for the whole world, to see. Chat stood there nervously shifting on his toes as the news crews arrived. Alya, already on scene, asked multiple questions, but Chat could not answer. Although he normally was the savvier of the two superheroes in terms of handling the press, today his thoughts were a jumble and his words stuck in his throat. As such his lady had to handle the volley of questions coming at them by herself.

Now, the time approached. Ladybug gave him a winning smile, appearing so genuine in her admiration, he wondered if she meant it or if she was really that good of an actress. Her mouth moved. What did she say? He could not focus on her words, only the curve of her lips, pink and inviting. He had tasted her lips on two occassions, an intoxicating cocktail of sweetness and warmth. It had been almost a week since he had last kissed her as Adrien. Knowing his drug of choice was within his reach, he felt his craving for her overtake him. His tail swished back and forth as evidence of his agitation and his cat ears pointed toward her and only her despite the noise of the reporters.

Now, the time came. Ladybug slipped one arm around his waist and the other to cup his cheek. She turned his head and pulled him closer to her. He could not move, but just allowed himself to melt into her. Her lips pressed against his and that familiar surge of electricity flowed through his body again out to his fingertips and toes. His arms wrapped around her. One hand settling at the small of her back and the other sweeping across her shoulder blades to pull her closer to him. His mouth moved on its own accord returning and deepening the kiss. His tongue swept across her lower lip asking for entrance. He felt her whole body stiffen in his arms. He had gone too far, been too lost in his passion for her. She pulled away suddenly and he could see the question in her eyes. This was not what they agreed to do. Remembering herself she turned toward the cameras to give a happy, although forced, smile before zipping off with her yo-yo.

Chat sighed and then cursed himself as he watched her go.

“ _How could I be so stupid? She trusts you. She’s counting on you to help her and what do you do? Take advantage of the situation, of her, to satisfy your own desire. You are skum! She’ll hate you now and she has every right to! Idiot! How do you get yourself into such twisted predicaments? Helping the woman you love to get over you by kissing her? Ridiculous!_ ”

Finally, Alya’s voice penetrated his thoughts, “You need to leave! Chat Noir! Your ring!.”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Running to a spot clear of people, he struck the butt of his baton onto the ground as he extended it, vaulting him high onto the rooftops above them. He sprinted, putting as much distance between him and the crowd and then jumped down to an empty alleyway before transforming back to Adrien. His back hit the brick wall of one of the buildings and he sunk down to the ground. He pulled out a slice of camembert to his kwami.

“Do me a favor, Plagg?” he said holding the cheese out to him without looking up, “Save the lecture and just eat.” The little, cat-like god begrudgingly held his tongue and accepted the offering.

Adrien leaned his head back against the cold, hard brick. He closed his eyes remembering the taste of his lady’s lips as a smile pulled at his mouth. Plagg just shook his head at his love-struck chosen. Ladybug’s plan had a fatal flaw and consequently that kiss had done nothing to discourage Adrien.

\-----O-----

 “M’Lady?” Chat approached Ladybug as she sat on one of the platforms of the Eiffel Tower. “I am so sorry! I tried, but…”

“It’s okay, Chaton. I know you tried. It’s not your fault it didn’t work,” she said looking up at her partner.

“Didn’t work?” he asked confused.

“Yeah, Adrien was not upset in the least by our kiss.”

“He wasn’t? Are you sure?” Adrien had made a concerted effort to be mopey all day at school. Nino even asked him what was wrong.

She nodded her head as she stood up. “He’s been walking around in a daze ever since I kissed him the first time and he still is,” she said mournfully.

“Well, speaking from experience a kiss from you would be impossible to forget,” Chat sighed as the memory of each kiss he had received from her floated through his mind in succession.

To his surprise Ladybug blushed. Chat did a double take to be sure. There was definitely a pink cast to her cheeks just below her mask. What did that mean? Ladybug never blushed.

The spotted hero shook her head as she walked past him trying to hide the red burn she felt on her face. “I thought for sure it would work, that at least he would be jealous if not hurt, but he just looked so damn…blissful. Like it didn’t affect him in the least or as if it made him happier!”

“Really? That is so weird,” Chat rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. His eyes followed her as she paced back and forth.

“I know, right?” she asked in exasperation. “Even when the topic got brought up all he said was, ‘Ladybug deserves to be happy. Chat Noir’s the luckiest guy in the world if she’s chosen him.’”

That wasn’t true. Adrien had also said that, “All of Paris probably has a broken heart today, including me.” Was that not clear? Did Ladybug’s source not hear him or forget to tell her?

 “Maybe he’s the type to hold it all in. He’s probably more upset than anyone realizes,” Chat suggested.

“Don’t you see?” Ladybug asked. “He said ‘ _if_ she’s chosen him’. Adrien still doubts that I’ve chosen to be with you over him.”

“Oh,” Chat nodded, “Hmmm...” That seemed a strong conclusion to draw from one word, but he did not object.

Ladybug pounded her fist into the open palm of her other hand, “We are just going to have to redouble our efforts.”

Chat gulped. What did she mean? Another kiss? His heart raced at the thought and his eyes wandered to her lips. He unconsciously licked his own lips. He ran a hand through his windblown hair as a wave of panic washed over him. He would have to control himself better the next time. “ _No tongue!_ ” he chastised himself. But, he was unsure that he would be able to resist. She was just so…wonderful. To hold her so close, to feel her lips against his, to be so near to getting his heart’s desire only to know that it wasn’t true and to feel it slip through his fingers. It was bliss and pain all wrapped up together with a bow of confusion.

“Chat? Chat! Did you hear what I said?” Ladybug asked with her hands on her hips.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry M’Lady. My mind was elsewhere,” he admitted feebly.

“Focus now!” she said and she proceeded with explaining their next step. She continued to pace and count off points on her fingers. Chat sat down on the rooftop propping up his head with his hand as his elbow rested on his bent knee. With his eyes, he watched her walk back and forth. He would nod his head and give little grunts of agreement, but he was not listening. He meant to listen, but his brain felt like it was on autopilot and his heart instead controlled his thoughts.

If only he could tell Ladybug that he’s Adrien underneath the mask. But, that was not an option. They had promised each other not to reveal themselves or try to find out each other’s secret identities. That was one of the main reasons he decided to try to put an end to all of this making Adrien fall out and then back in love with her. The falling back in love with her was the problem because it would be with her civilian self and he could not fathom a way that it would happen without her unintentionally revealing herself to him. Eventually, it would all come out and she would be mad and he would lose her.

When she asked him to help her fall out of love with Adrien he reluctantly agreed. The risk of learning her secret identity seemed to be removed by this new development, so he could in good faith help her. The devil on his shoulder seemingly won out and he hoped that perhaps if she no longer loved Adrien then he would have another opportunity to win her heart as Chat. Then, they could be together and still have their identities remain a secret. If she loved him as Adrien, then it should be easy to love him as Chat, right? Maybe?

Chat sighed to himself. As much as he loved being a super hero the whole secret identity thing was starting to be a drag. Wouldn’t everything be so much easier if they knew each other’s identities? Wouldn’t that solve all of their problems? Well, all of their problems except for his feelings for Marinette. But, that was a small stumbling block by comparison. He felt sure that if he could win his lady’s heart then his feelings for his princess would ease. Wouldn’t they?

 “So, Chat what do you think?” Ladybug asked expectantly.

“Hmmm…” he hummed distractedly.

Ladybug frowned, suspicious that he still wasn’t listening again. “About having a romantic, rooftop dinner that Alya covers for the LadyBlog. What do you think? Will that be enough to convince Adrien?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, M’Lady! You always have good ideas. I’m sure it won’t fail.”

“ _This will be my chance to show her what it would be like to have Chat Noir as a boyfriend. And, I’ll be sure that Adrien is completely heartbroken over it_ ,” he thought to himself.

“Just leave everything to me. I’ll take care of the arrangements,” He leapt to his feet suddenly and ran to the roof’s edge. With a two-fingered salute, he jumped and was gone.

“Wait! Chat!” Ladybug watched her kitty run off excitedly and shook her head. “Stupid cat,” she mumbled, but a grin tugged at her lips.


	6. Table for Two (or Four?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LadyNoir go on a date.

Chat surveyed the rooftop and nodded slightly in satisfaction. He walked over to the table to straighten a fork that sat slightly askew. He took a breath to try to calm his nerves. Everything had to be perfect. This was his one and only shot, a once in a lifetime chance to win his lady’s heart. He checked the time on his baton. Deciding his lady would be here soon enough and needing something to do to keep himself occupied, he lit the candles on the table and then the three or four dozen he had scattered along the roof’s ledge. He pressed play on his MP3 player to begin the music he had selected for the night. He adjusted the cords to hide them, hoping that they would not detract from the ambiance.

It took him almost a week to find the venue, select the menu, and prepare all of the small details from flowers to lighting to music. Now all of his work had come to fruition. He hoped it would be good enough. He bounced on his toes excitedly and shook his hands at his sides, trying to rid himself of his nerves. Chat Noir was never nervous except for tonight. Tonight, he was a nervous wreck.

“Chaton?”

Chat spun around quickly to find Ladybug on the rooftop. His nerves must have gotten the better of him to have overpowered his super hearing. She had never arrived before without him knowing.

“M’Lady!” He breathed.

“Did you…did you do all of this?” She asked, her expression reflecting the awe she felt. White Christmas lights were strung along the top of the shed that led to the interior of the building down to each corner of the roof. Small votive candles formed a perfect square border along the roof ledge. Light, airy piano music wafted through the air. Bouquets of multi-colored roses dotted the roof top and a low arrangement of the same adorned the center of a small table for two. The table was set with a white table cloth, white china, and cut crystal stemware.

He nodded. Chat felt somewhere between blissfully happy and sick to his stomach. He reminded himself to contain his Chat-ness as much as possible.

“ _Ladybug likes Adrien. Be Adrien. No puns!_ ”

“It’s…it’s amazing! You’re amazing. Thank you,” Ladybug enthused.

“Of course, anything for you!” He could feel the blush spread across his cheeks and up his neck. He cleared his throat. “I haven’t noticed any sign of Alya. Do you think she is set up okay across the street?”

“Yes, she texted me. She’s all set.”

“Oh, good.” Chat felt a slight pang that Alya had Ladybug’s phone number and he didn’t, but he supposed since he could contact her through his baton and her yo-yo perhaps that’s why she never gave him her number.

“Shall we?” he asked, extending his hand to her as an invitation for her to move into the space of their dinner date.

“I brought this,” Ladybug practically shoved the parcel into Chat’s face. He took it from her hands and then lowered it so he could determine its contents. He recognized the label.

“The Dupain-Cheng bakery!” he exclaimed. “You went!” He opened the bag finding a fresh loaf of bread. He breathed the delicious smell in deeply.

“Yes, I thought I should contribute something…” her hands gesticulated to the atmosphere around them. Ladybug felt completely blown away by the amount of time and effort Chat must have put into this. In her wildest dreams she had not imagined anything so wonderful, so romantic.

He grinned lop-sidedly feeling warm all over that Ladybug had visited an establishment that he had recommended.

“Wonderful! It will go great with the dinner I prepared. I have a lovely soup and a crunchy bread will pair well with it,” he smiled as he hastened to cut the loaf.

“What else are we having?” She asked as her stomach growled at the smell of the bread.

“I have an arugula salad, sushi for the entrée, and a special surprise for dessert curtesy of our favorite bakery. I hope you’ll like it?”

“It sounds lovely.”

“The menu was constrained by our accommodations,” he indicated their surroundings. “Soup is easy enough to keep warm, but for the rest it seemed best to select things that we could eat cold. Would you like something to drink?”

He pulled a bottle out of an ice bucket. “Apple cider, okay?”

Ladybug nodded.

“I considered wine or Champagne, since it’s a special occasion, but then I’d have to break my rule, so I thought not,” he explained.

“Rule?” She quirked an eyebrow. “What rule is that?” Chat living by rules was news to her.

“I never drink or take any other mind-altering substances while transformed. And, to be honest, I try to avoid them as my civilian self, since I never know when I’ll have to transform,” he smiled as he offered her the glass.

“I didn’t realize you take things so…seriously.”

“Well, when it comes to my miraculous, I’m very serious.” He picked up his own glass of cider.

Ladybug snickered.

“WHAT?” He asked a bit offended. “I am serious! Doesn’t mean I can’t have fun, too, though,” he conceded. “But, puns are harmless. Drinking on the job, well that’s just dangerous. I mean, what if I cataclysmed the wrong thing. What if I touch y—someone by accident. That would be awful.”

His mood seemed to somber for a few seconds as something dark passed over his face. He quickly shook it off and raised his glass.

“To living and loving and being happy. May our wishes come true,” Chat toasted their joint endeavor. They clinked glasses. Ladybug blushed as he recalled her words.

 They sat down to eat, starting with the salad first.

“What about you, Chaton?” Ladybug broke the silence. “What do you wish for?”

“The same as you, M’Lady. To love someone and have them love you back.”

“Any prospects?” she asked trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

Chat shook his head no. “I’ve already fallen in love twice within the past year. I doubt the gods would bestow a third chance on me so soon.” He said it as an offhanded comment. It was only when he noticed that Ladybug’s fork seemed to be stuck halfway between her plate and her mouth that he realized that something was wrong.

“M’Lady? Is the salad not to your liking?” he asked concerned.

“You…fell in _love_ with…Marinette?” she squeaked. She felt her heart swell.

“Umm…more cider?” he lamely tried to turn the conversation.

“Answer the question, Chat,” Ladybug stated sternly. “Do you love Marinette?”

“Maybe,” he hedged. “But, it doesn’t mean I love you any less, M’Lady,” he added quickly trying to make amends. He reminded Ladybug of a puppy (kitten?) that had just gotten scolded for doing something naughty. 

“How can you love two girls?”

“I don’t know. I wish I could explain it, believe me. I would love to know. I’m sure it sounds awful, like I’m some kind of double-faced liar, or something. And, for a while I believed I was skum, since I couldn’t just love one of you, to be faithful. I spent so much time agonizing over it. But, I realized something: I’m not hurting anyone by loving both of you (except maybe myself) and so I just…I got to the point where I finally just let all the guilt and doubt, all of it, go. I gave up on trying to decide between the two of you and I decided to love you both. It’s not like it matters anyway. It’s unrequited love on both fronts.”

Chat inwardly cursed himself. This was not the way he wanted this dinner to go.

“ _Stop talking about, Marinette, idiot! Talk about the girl in front of you. Say something nice!_ ”

“I’m sorry, Chaton, I had no idea…”

“Yeah, that’s okay, L.B.” he interrupted. “We don’t have to talk about it.” He gave a sheepish smile as he rose to clear the salad plates.

Ladybug watch him as he moved, busying himself with the details of the dinner. She chewed her lip nervously, gathering her courage to make her next move.

Chat returned a moment later with the soup and bread. He placed a bowl before her. Ladybug smiled, her eyes shining so brightly Chat’s breath hitched.

“You look very pretty, tonight, M’Lady. Your hair looks different. Did you recently cut it?”

“Yes, I did. Sweet of you to notice, Chaton.” She lowered her eyes shyly and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. She smoothed her pigtails with her hands.

Chat mentally gave himself a high five. He would get this dinner back on track if it killed him. In fact, Ladybug already looked pretty enamored with him, if demurring and primping were any indication.

After a few moments Ladybug broke the silence. “You’ve been so helpful, Chaton. I’d like to return the favor.”

“That’s kind of you, ‘Bug. I’ll keep that in mind and let you know,” he smiled gratefully.

“Well, actually I’m thinking I could help you…with Marinette.”

Chat’s mouth hung open and a drip of soup slid down his chin before he came to his senses and wiped it away with his napkin. He swallowed hard.

 “Um…that’s really kind of you, L.B., but I don’t know. I mean, I think I’ll get over Marinette on my own. We have enough on our plate don’t you think?”

“No, no I mean I could help you get Marinette to love you,” Ladybug corrected, her eyes sparkling.

Chat gasped, then coughed and sputtered, turning a horrible shade of purple. Ladybug in horror slapped him on the back several times in an effort to help, but succeeding in only giving him a sore back.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you choke,” she said regretfully. “I thought you’d be happy. Don’t you still want to be with her?” Ladybug chewed her bottom lip anxious to hear his answer.

He couldn’t speak, since his throat was too dry and scratchy, so he just nodded. He couldn’t really say no, since nothing had happened to make him change his mind accept the renewed chance with Ladybug, but he couldn’t admit to that. It would ruin his chances with her.

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief. This whole plan of hers would be for naught if he had answered negatively. Now, she knew she had a chance.

“I appreciate the offer, really, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he shook his head. “I don’t want to trick her or anything.” This was true. He did not want to involve Marinette in this at all. Things were complicated enough. Bad enough he was playing with Ladybug’s heart and risking his own. To add Marinette’s into the mix would be not only irresponsible, but reprehensible.

“No, no I’m not suggesting that,” although she felt warm all over by his concern. “It’s just I think there’s been a misunderstanding between you two and if that could just get straightened out then your path would be totally clear.”

“So, you’d help me clear up the misunderstanding?” he asked.

“Yes, exactly, and then the rest is up to you,” Ladybug explained.

“Well…” Chat considered. “I guess that would be okay...” It would be nice not to have any awkwardness between Marinette and his Chat self at least. And the “rest” as Ladybug called it could be just a friendship. It wouldn’t have to turn romantic.

“Great! All I have to do is talk to her. And explain…”

“What do you mean? Explain what?” Chat sensed his doom.

“Explain that the reason that you were flirting and flexing and all that,” she waved her hand at his body, “was because you like her.”

“You can’t tell her _that_!” Chat threw up his hands in exasperation. His instinct was right. Bad idea to involve Marinette, very bad idea.

“Why not? It’s true. You said you didn’t want to trick her, so you can’t lie…” Ladybug wagged a finger.

“I’m not suggesting that you lie, but you can’t tell her that, L.B. You just can’t!” Chat insisted.

“Well, why not?” she asked a bit haughtily.

“It’s too embarrassing! And…and she’s going to think I’m pathetic!” Chat grasped onto a plausible reason.

“Why because you like her? Or, because you showed off in front of her?”

“No, because she’ll think I sent my partner to go tell her that I like her and to explain why I acted like an idiot in front of her. You can’t do that! She’ll think I’m too scared to talk to her myself. She’ll lose any respect for me; I’d rather she just hate me.” There, good, just leave it at that. Case closed.

“She’s not going to feel that way. She’ll probably be flattered. Girls like to know that guys like them, you know,” Ladybug argued.

“No, no, no.” Chat maintained waving his hands back in forth in front of him. This should be his issue to deal with and if he didn’t want to deal with it, then that was his business. “Promise me you won’t go talk to her. Promise you’ll stay out of it.”

“Um…okay. I promise…,” she drew a little cross over her heart with her finger and then very softy said “…starting now.” She hadn’t really meant for him to hear her, but his miraculous bestowed him with enhanced hearing.

“Wait. What’s that supposed to mean? Starting now? Did you already talk to her?” He looked at the bread in his hand and realized that it had provided her with an opportunity to talk to Marinette while buying it at the bakery. “You did, didn’t you? You already talked to her. Shit!” He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over, and then started to pace. “This is bad!” He continued to mumble under his breath, but she could not make out what he was saying.

“Chat….Chat, calm down. It’s ok.” She said softy as she rose slowly.

“Why?” He rounded on her with a clawed finger pointed at her, “Why did you do that?” It’s like Ladybug was purposefully trying to ruin his renewed chance with her by complicating things and bringing Marinette into the mix. Ladybug was forcing him to declare his feelings to Marinette after he already had decided to try to repress them.

“I was only trying to help. And, it worked! She feels awful for hurting your feelings,” Ladybug rushed to explain.

“She does?” Chat breathed. Well, that’s not a bad thing. Maybe Marinette wants to be friends. That would be okay. He wanted that, too.

Ladybug nodded, “Aaand…she was pretty flattered when I told her about your crush on her.”

“Ohhh! Why did you have to tell her that?” Chat whined as he covered his face with his hands. He wanted to run and hide. This was so embarrassing! It also took off the table of only being her friend. She would be expecting him to want a romantic relationship with her. That being the case he couldn’t in good conscience pursue Ladybug. If he did, then he would hurt Marinette and he refused to do that. Even though he couldn’t call her a friend, he _wanted_ to be her friend. He cared and admired her too much to purposefully hurt her.

“Chat! You are freaking out for no good reason! Your crush likes you back! Why are you upset?”

“Why am I upset? WHY? AM? I? UPSET? Because YOU…YOU…” he pointed an accusing finger at his partner. “Wait. Say that again…what you said before you asked why I’m upset…say it again.”

“Your crush likes you back,” Ladybug stated.

“My crush…likes me back. She likes _me_ ,” a grin started to grow across his face. “Marinette likes me?” he whispered in awe.

Ladybug nodded as she witnessed this knowledge finally dawn on her partner.

“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG LIKES ME!” he shouted at the top of his lungs before whooping a couple of times.

Ladybug tried to shush him, but he could not contain his enthusiasm. He whirled around and scooped his partner into his arms. He lifted her and twirled her around and around. She laughed with joy, so pleased to see him so happy.

“Thank you! Thank you! I’m so happy I could kiss you!” Chat immediately halted and dropped Ladybug on the ground like she was a hot potato.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

“It’s okay, Chat. You’re happy! I’m so glad!”

“Yeah,” he grinned. “Me, too.” He felt surprised by this sudden turn of events. He never thought Marinette would return his feelings and so had consoled himself with the idea of trying to just be her friend if he could figure out how. But, now he knew she liked him and he liked her. He had what he wanted. To be loved and to be allowed to love that person in return. All he had to do was reach out and take it. All he had to do was…let Ladybug go.

Chat sat down with a thump on the ground. All warmth and joy drained from his body. The sparkle in his eye replaced with dullness. A frown overtook his grin.

“You okay Chaton?” Ladybug asked him as she hovered above.

He looked up at her and nodded. “Yeah, I just um got a little dizzy. All that spinning.” He gave her a smile trying to cover. “We should get back to our dinner. Alya won’t get the pictures she needs.”

He heaved himself up and walked back to the table. He righted his chair and then sat down. Ladybug joined him, but he was back on his feet in an instant.

“Soup’s cold. I’ll get the sushi,” he said rising and then clearing the bowls away.

Ladybug nodded and watched him with her eyes as he placed her plate before her and then sat down.

“This looks great. Thank you,” she picked up her chopsticks and popped a roll into her mouth. She moaned over how wonderful it tasted. Chat seemed satisfied enough and returned to his own plate.

Quiet settled over them and Ladybug shifted nervously. Chat did not seem to notice. His brows were furrowed and he stared at the flower centerpiece as if there was some precious jewel hidden amongst the petals and thorns.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Ladybug asked trying to break the silence. Normally, she wouldn’t have minded the quiet. They could easily sit together in comfortable silence, but this was not one of those times.

“I was just thinking… it’s all over the news that you and I kissed, L.B., so, Marinette must think we’re together. How would that look then if I asked her out? She’d think I’m a cheat.”

“No, I explained all that to her,” Ladybug waved her hand dismissively as she picked up another roll with her chopsticks. “She understands that your helping me with Adrien.”

“Oh! And she’s okay with that? Because Marinette hates liars, so I can’t see her really agreeing with this whole crazy plan of ours.” Chat’s mind whirred with worry. He knew this whole thing was a bad idea from the start. He cursed himself for his selfishness.

“No, she gets it. I mean, Adrien is her friend so naturally Marinette wants him to get over his crush on me so that…”

“Wait, wait,” Chat interrupted. “Did Marinette really say that she’s friends with Adrien?”

“Yeah, they’re friends.”

“No, no. This is important,” Chat gesticulated with his chopsticks. “Really think. Did Marinette _say_ that she’s Adrien’s _friend_? Or, did you just assume it?”

“No, she really said it. They’re friends. Why is this important?”

“Huh. Marinette considers Adrien a friend?” Although he said the question out loud it was meant for himself to answer as he puzzled over this information.

Ladybug studied her partner’s face seeing first surprise and then confusion. She felt compelled to reassure him.

“Yes, they’re friends, _just friends_. She’s given up her crush on him…or is trying to...” She whispered the last part of the sentence.

Chat’s head snapped up, eyes wide and cat ears pointed tall. “Crush? What crush?”

“Um…” Ladybug realized her error.

“Are you telling me that Marinette has a crush on Adrien?” Chat reached across the table to grab his partner’s hand compelling her to look at him.

“Well…she did, but not anymore,” Ladybug quickly added. She thought her words would cheer him, but Chat looked positively sick. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around his torso as if giving himself a hug. His head hung low.

“What is it with this guy?” he again talked to himself out loud. “Everybody loves him! I don’t get it,” He shook his head.

“Chat…”

But before Ladybug could say more Chat broke out into a fit of laughter. Ladybug again watched her partner crack up over something that she did not find humorous.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Don’t you see? [Hee-hee.] Adrien must have the worst luck in the world…[ha-ha]…two amazing women fall for him [tee-hee]…he’s completely…[ha!]…completely oblivious…and now it’s too late! [Ho-ho] Both gone!”

“I wouldn’t say he has the worst luck. Actually, he seems to have very good luck,” Ladybug sounded a bit annoyed and hurt.

“I don’t see how…” Chat shook his head.

“He picked up a special order from the bakery today. Something about it being for an important dinner date. He got it to impress a girl. You’ll find this bit funny, Chaton, she’s apparently a fan of us. The dessert was in the theme of Ladybug and Chat Noir! So, you see, he’s moved on to another girl.”

“How did you know?”

“Oh! Um…Marinette told me. Her father told her and even showed her the order before Adrien picked it up. Two cupcakes, one red velvet and the other chocolate with vanilla icing. Her father dyed the icing red with chocolate chips for the Ladybug one and green with licorice cats for the Chat one.”

Chat’s shoulders slumped. This day was getting worse and worse.

“Oh, I see. Well, I guess our work here is done,” he wiped his mouth with his napkin and then tossed it down on the table. Time to call it quits. No way were they ever eating that dessert. Not only did it make Adrien seem like a scoundrel, but it would out Chat’s identity.

“What do you mean?” she asked as she watched him stand up.

“Adrien’s moved on if he’s out with another girl, so he must not be in love with you anymore. And, now that you know there’s no hope of being with him because of this someone else, I’m sure you’ll get over him soon enough. So, there really is no point to this dinner, then, is there? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

Little did Ladybug know that the girl Adrien was having dinner with was actually herself. But, it didn’t matter, Chat reasoned. It was a plausible excuse to extricate them from this confusing, twisted mess and we would take it.

“Oh, well, I was going to, but you went to so much trouble. I um didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Chat nodded. A pity date. She pitied him and so had suffered through this faux date rather than cancel it. She had talked almost the whole night about Marinette and had even gone to the trouble of trying to get them together. Obviously, Ladybug was not interested in him. It was all a pipe dream.

“And, I didn’t want to disappoint Alya. We promised her an exclusive,” Ladybug continued. She took the napkin from her lap and folded it carefully before placing it on the table. Chat seemed suddenly subdued. Had she upset him?

“Chaton, is something wrong?” she asked as she rose from her seat. She walked over toward him. He seemed lost in thought as he looked out at the city lights.

He shook his head and smiled wryly. “I had such high hopes for our dinner. This is not how I imagined it all!”

“What did you think would happen?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“Did you think that we…?”

Chat stilled. “Honestly, I hoped that you would see all of this,” he gestured to the rooftop, “and you would…you would fall for me.”

“Oh, Chat…”

“I know. It’s silly. I’m stupid and selfish. I just hoped that if Adrien was out of the picture, then maybe I would have a chance to win your heart.”

 “But…what about Marinette?”

“Marinette was always just a dream, a fantasy, a ‘what if’. I never thought I had any chance,” he walked over to the table.

“But now you do! Don’t you see? She likes you!” Ladybug followed him with her eyes.

“It won’t work,” he replied as he sat down with a huff. Upon seeing her questioning, doubtful look he explained. “I won’t put her in danger. Being in a relationship with Chat Noir will put her in danger.”

“She’d only be in danger if she knows who you are behind that mask. Maybe she doesn’t care. Maybe she’d be okay with not knowing.”

As he thought about her words, Ladybug joined him at the table.

“Maybe,” he agreed, “but I wouldn’t be.”

“W-what?”

“At some point, I’d want her to know me, all of me. I’d want the whole world to know that she’s mine and I’m hers. I’d want to go to her house and have dinner with her family. I’d want to introduce her to my father. I’d want to get all dressed up and take her out to dinner, to parties. I’d want us to hang out with our friends together, hold hands at school. I can’t do any of those things with the mask on. And, if I take the mask off, then I’d be risking her life.”

“Well, um, maybe by the time you felt that way we will have caught Hawk Moth…”

“Maybe,” his brows furrowed. “I appreciate the help, L.B. really, but…I’ll see Marinette tomorrow and explain everything. I’ll make her understand.”

“Chat, I really think you are making this too complicated. She likes you, you like her. Everything else you can figure out, together.”

“Normally, I’d agree with you, L.B., but, there’s one thing you’re forgetting,” when he saw her shrug he continued, “I’m still in love with you. I’d only be able to give Marinette half of my heart. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

“Maybe she’ll understand. Maybe…”

Chat shook his head. “I wouldn’t understand if the circumstances were reversed. I’d want all of her.”

A silence fell over them.

Ladybug wasn’t sure what to do next. The dinner wasn’t exactly going the way she thought it would go either. She thought if she cleared the way for Chat and Marinette, then all would be well. She hadn’t realized how much thought Chat had already put into that relationship and all of the reasons it wouldn’t work. For her, Marichat made more sense than LadyNoir even though it would be lying to her partner by hiding the truth of her identity, but she was doing that already so was she really doing anything so bad by entering into a romantic relationship with him as Marinette? To be loved as Marinette and understood as Ladybug was all she wanted and Chat did both. Being with him as Marinette also protected their partnership. Any romantic entanglements would not bleed over into their superhero duties. He would be unaware and she could control herself, right? She’d be able to be with him romantically out of the suit and professional in the suit, right? No reason to be concerned that things might still get tricky, right? Ladybug felt a surge of anxiety as she realized for all her strategic thinking she had not given much thought to how this proposed relationship would work. Certainly not as much thought as Chat had.

The quiet that settled over them felt heavy and oppressive. To do something to occupy himself, Chat picked up his chopsticks, but he didn’t eat. He kept dipping the same roll over and over in his soy sauce. Ladybug for the life of her could not hold a roll steady with her chopsticks despite using them to eat every day of her life since the age of 3. Ladybug took a breath and steeled herself. She had to ask. It was stupid and reckless and rash, but she didn’t care.

“How about us?” she asked with a tremor in her voice. “Would we work…as a couple?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got halfway through this chapter and then suffered from writer's block for about three months. Currently, suffering from writer's block on my multi-part fanfic, so I circled back to this one and was able to complete it.


	7. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LadyNoir figures out Adrienette.

“Would we work…as a couple?”

The roll of sushi Chat held plopped into the small bowl of soy sauce staining the white table cloth with dark drops.

“Yes!” he answered enthusiastically. “I mean, I’d like to think so,” Chat said more earnestly.

“Why would we be any different?”

“Well, you’re already in danger from Hawk Moth, so I don’t bring any added danger. And you’re more than capable of protecting yourself and you have your miraculous.”

“But, what about our partnership? Wouldn’t it be affected?” the spotted superhero asked with concern.

“We’ve gone through tough times in our personal relationship before, but we always got the job done. I don’t see why it would be any different. We’d just have to work through it…together.”

“We still both wear masks. What about meeting families and hanging out with friends?”

“I guess I always hoped that at some point you’d trust me enough that you’d agree to revealing our identities to each other.”

“I do trust you,” she replied, looking directly into his eyes.

“I know,” he nodded.

“What about Marinette? You still love her. Wouldn’t it be the same problem? You’d only be able to give me half of your heart.”

“Yes, that’s true. But, I know you still love Adrien. So, we’d both be in the same position. We’d be equal in that way. I’m okay with you loving Adrien.” He felt a bit guilty about that. After all, she’d be loving the same person, just two different sides, while he would be loving two different people.

“I’m okay with you loving Marinette,” Ladybug echoed his statement.

“M’Lady?”

“I’m okay with you loving Marinette and me,” she paused, “if you’re okay with me loving Adrien and you.”

“Do you love me?” he whispered, amazement filling his heart.

“I only recently realized it, but I do. I think I have for a while. I just would never allow myself to admit it because of my feelings for Adrien.”

He stretched his arm across the table, extending his hand out. “Say it.”

She entwined her fingers with his own. “I love you, Chaton.”

“I love you, M’Lady.” He squeezed her hand as he jumped up from the table and took her in his arms. He pulled her to her feet and spun her around the rooftop, waltzing to the music playing. Her peals of laughter echoed in the night and made his heart sing. When the song ended, she begged him to stop, breathless and dizzy. He readily complied, stilling their feet, but he would not let her go. He held her close, enjoying the warmth of her body, the sweet scent of her hair, the softness of her cheek. Their lips met and did not part for some time.

\----o----

“Seven. How did you know?” Ladybug asked turning around in Chat’s arms to look up at his face.

“Huh? Seven?”

“Seven kisses!” Ladybug repeated. At his blank stare she repeated, “When we practiced letting Adrien down, you said, ‘Two separate occasions, a total of seven kisses.’ How did you know that I kissed Adrien seven times?”

“You must have told me,” he replied quickly, trying to cover his blunder.

“No,” she twisted out of his embrace to face him. “I didn’t even know until I thought about it just now and realized that you were right. Seven. Seven kisses. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess?” Chat shrugged.

“Seven is a pretty specific number, Chaton,” she crossed her arms.

“Is it?” he gulped, but then he realized, “Wait. You’re here with me and you’re thinking about him?” Chat had no right to feel offended since she was thinking about his unmasked self, but she didn’t know that.

“You said you’re okay with me loving him, too.”

“I am! But, I didn’t think you’d be thinking about kissing him while I’m holding you in my arms. It’s like you wish I was him!” He needed her to want to be with his Chat side.

“I don’t! It wasn’t like that. It’s just that…” she paused, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. “This is going to sound horrible…” She looked guiltily at her feet.

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, silently asking her to look at him and to talk to him.

“It’s just, I start out thinking of you, and then I dunno, before I know it, I’m thinking of him. And, vice versa. I just go around and around in my head,” she circled her finger in the air. Ladybug felt frustrated with herself. Before now she would get frustrated because she meant to be thinking of Adrien, but Chat kept invading her thoughts. Now, she meant to be thinking of Chat and Adrien kept popping into her head.

Chat smiled, shyly. Perhaps on some level she had already realized who he is beneath the mask.

“There are some times…when you really remind me of him,” she admitted.   

“How so?” he asked, curious.

Ladybug was surprised that he was taking this news so well. “Um…you did a pretty good impression of him when we were practicing. Your voice, the words you chose, especially when you talk about me. You sound like him.”

“And, your rule about not drinking,” she continued. “It feels like something he would do. He’s very responsible, dependable.”

Her brows furrowed as she thought out loud. “Adrien has some of your qualities, too. He doesn’t laugh very often, but when he does he has this hearty laugh that sounds like you. And the way he saved me. He just pushed me out of the way without a second thought to his own safety…just like you do.” Her bluebell eyes met his green ones as realization flashed through her mind.

“When you kissed me in front of the press, for a moment I thought…”

“You thought?” he pressed.

“I thought I was kissing Adrien, not because I wanted you to be him, but because it felt like him.” She brought her hand up to his face, looking at him in wonder.

He leaned his cheek into her palm. “Say it,” he encouraged. “You already know. Say it.”

“Adrien?”

He smiled broadly and nodded. He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away.

 “Has this been a game to you?” she asked, the hurt apparent in her voice.

“No, of course not. M’Lady, please…”

“You asked for a reward, remember? You told me to kiss you. You knew I was coming and you wore a towel! A TOWEL!”

“Okay, I used some poor judgment, but I honestly didn’t think you’d really kiss me. And, how many times did I try to talk you into being with Adrien? And, how many times did I say we should stop this crazy plan of ours? I swear, I didn’t try to prolong it.”

“You laughed when I told you the someone else I loved was Chat,” she corrected.

“True, but that was a mistake. I didn’t mean to laugh. The whole situation was so…odd. And, to hear you say that when I know you didn’t really feel that way...it sounded so absurd. I’m sorry. But, I really tried to make up for it at school. I don’t know who your source is that said I didn’t appear heartbroken, but they lied. I moped. I whined.”

Ladybug bit her lip as her eyes lowered guiltily. “Okay,” she nodded.

“The kiss in front of the press and the dinner tonight, those were your ideas. I really tried to help however misguided I was.”

“ _Okay_ ,” she held her hands up in surrender.

“And, you promised you wouldn’t be mad at me if it all went badly, so…”

“Chat!” she held his face in her hands, forcing him to look in her eyes and hear her words. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?” He held his breath as he waited for her to pass sentence.

“Okay, what’s done is done and the important thing is we’re here now, together.”

“Together? You mean together, together?” he asked as his eyes widened in surprise.

Ladybug nodded as a broad smile spilt her face, “Kiss me, you, stupid cat.”

Their lips met and did not part for some time.

\----o----

“Ohhh, I can’t believe I ate that whole cupcake!” Ladybug groaned as she leaned back into Chat’s arms.

“And part of mine,” Chat reminded her as he planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I told you, the best bakery in Paris!” He closed the lid of the pastry box setting on the roof ledge next to them. Upon seeing the label for Tom and Sabine’s bakery he sighed. He hadn’t meant to, it just slipped out.

“You okay?” she asked, picking up on his sudden mood change and the movement of ears, now resting flat on his head. She sat back on her haunches and noticed the crinkles as his brows pressed together.

“I’m just a bit worried about tomorrow when I see Marinette and explain…I’m not sure what to say. I don’t want to hurt her. I need to let her down easy.”

“Honesty is always best. I’m sure she’ll understand, Chaton.” Ladybug had no doubt that Marinette would be very understanding, even happy for him.

Chat nodded, but looked unconvinced. “Maybe I should say something like, ‘Marinette, I know Ladybug told you that I have a crush on you, which I do,” his eyes became unfocused as he pictured the raven-haired girl in his mind, “because you’re so kind and brave and cute…”

“But…” Ladybug supplied, trying to lead him to where he needed to go.

“Yeah, the cutest butt…”

“Chat!” Ladybug yelled as her face turned red all over and she stifled a giggle.

“What? Um…what was I saying?”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “You’re supposed to be letting Marinette down, not building her up! You better let me tell her.”

 “Really? Do you think that’s a good idea?” Chat asked wide-eyed.

Ladybug nodded, “I think I can make her understand.”

Chat shook his head, “It doesn’t seem right. I should be the one to explain.”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine. I developed a very good rapport with Marinette,” the spotted hero reassured him as she patted his hand.

“You two must have really hit it off to volunteer.”

Ladybug blanched. “Um…hee-hee, yes we did. You’re right, Chaton, she really is the nicest girl and we have so much in common.”

He nodded as he considered their common traits. “Both being in love with Adrien for one,” he replied dryly.

“Well, yeah there’s that,” she said with a nervous tremor in her voice.

“Both of you not being able to talk to Adrien.”

“Um, well I think I manage pretty well…”

“No, no you really don’t,” as something seemed to click in his head. “And, you both decided to give up on Adrien...at the exact same time.”

“Quite the coincidence, huh?” the girl’s voice went unnaturally high at the end.

“And, you both suddenly liking _Chat_ now…” the feline hero pressed the topic as he moved closer toward her.

“Yes, we do have amazingly similar taste in men,” she nodded.

“You do seem to be of one mind…” Chat noted as he leaned into her space, placing them nose to nose. “Buuut, I suppose it’s not that surprising. I mean Adrien and I have _very_ similar taste in women.”

“That’s because you’re the same person,” she noted quietly, feeling the heat from his chest warm her as his strong arms held her tightly.

“Yeah, fancy that,” Chat moved even closer, his lips achingly near and yet not touching hers.

“Y-yeah, you’re so fancy…,” she replied dreamily.

“A-ha!” Chat pulled back suddenly as he pointed a finger at the startled girl.

“I thought so! Marinette,” he shook his head disapprovingly despite the silly, broad grin on his face.

“I dunno what you’re talking about. In fact, I should be upset. All you want to talk about is Marinette! Marinette and her cute butt!” She crossed her arms and turned her head away with a pout.

“Actually, M’Lady you were the one talking all night about Marinette. You went to all of the trouble to visit her, tell her about my crush, smooth out the misunderstanding…come on!” He poked her ribs with his finger, making her pout dissolve, replaced with a devious grin.

“The kiss in front of the media, that was your idea! You just wanted to kiss Chat, admit it!” Chat crowed.

“I did not! That was all for Adrien’s benefit. I made the ultimate sacrifice for you, you ingrate!”

“You were your own source at school! ‘Adrien wasn’t upset in the least by our kiss…we need to redouble our efforts,’” he mocked her voice. “Very clever, M’Lady! Very clever.”

Before she could further protest Chat continued, “And the dinner date. Awww…too shy to ask me out yourself? Had to concoct a reason for that, too?”

“I am not shy! I’m not shy in the least around you!” Ladybug’s hands landed on her hips as she leaned into his space in defiance.

“Oh no?” Chat leaned in as well as he wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m so delighted to hear it, Marinette.”

“Stop calling me that! I’m Ladybug!”

“You are,” Chat whispered. “You’re my partner, my friend, and the girl I love…I love you, Marinette.”

“I love you, Adrien.”

Their lips met and did not part for some time.

\----Fin-----

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kind of obsessed with the the idea of Adrien (untransformed) saving Ladybug during an akuma battle. This is my third fanfic and I've had him do it all three with varying repercussions.


End file.
